We both retired in May of 2006. For the first 6 years we were avid RV'ers and addicted to the game of Pickleball. In September of 2013 we sold the RV and bought a house on the canal to Lake June in Lake Placid, FL where we continue to meet new people and make new friends. Fishing is our favorite past-time now. THANK YOU to our families and friends, old and new, for making our retirement the best chapter in our life so far.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Well - since my last post there has not been a whole lot going on..... just a lot more of the same ol', same ol' ........... And we are so hoping that it all gets resolved soon. I'm losing track of time.........but I think it's been close to 6 weeks since Rich injured his arm. Most of the cuts and bruises have healed, and except for one area near the wrist, most of the swelling is down. But....... he's had a MRI, about a week and a half ago, and we have been trying to find a surgeon who can remove the "foreign object" from under the skin.......and until that is done the wound will continue to drain. No hand/wrist specialist in the area (that is covered by our insurance!), so we are in the process of scheduling a visit to Orlando Hand Surgery!!!! We'll see how long it takes!

So not getting a lot done.........and we are so ready to GO SOMEPLACE!! ANYPLACE!!! Have not even seen friends in what seems like forever..... but we have plans to meet up at the Outback Steakhouse next weekend!

So what do you do when you're stuck at home?? Cook and Bake, of course! And so - Rich said " lets fix a prime rib!"!! OK - but neither of us had every done that........so we got a 2 bone Rib Roast ( $45!!!!!), and the appropriate seasonings! We roasted some asparagus, a baked potato (sweet potato for me)

and it was absolutely delicious!

We were blessed with a couple of "cooler" days, so Rich suggested Chicken Chili and cornbread.......... Had enough for left overs for a second meal. I prefer the regular chili, but this is definitely his favorite.

Thanksgiving always calls for Rich's Mom's Pumpkin Pie! And so on Tuesday we did the baking! And, of course we enjoyed a piece with whip cream for dessert that night.😋

Thanksgiving Day was a quiet one. We are so used to fixing dinner for family or friends, and yet this year, I just could not find the energy to entertain anyone ........... But we did fix the Turkey, and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, biscuits, green bean casserole and cranberries! And yesterday we enjoyed hot turkey sandwiches for dinner!

The highlight of the day was the phone call from Dennis and the family!

Today - Sunday, we harvested the last pineapple from the backyard for the year. It was definitely ready, golden yellow in color, juicy and perfectly sweet!

Tomorrow I need to continue and try to finish my on-line Christmas shopping! Will be back on the phone with the Doctor's, I'm sure!

Friday, November 9, 2018

And so the saga continues. First for Rich. Tomorrow will be the last of the high dosage anti-biotics. We've seen some improvement in the arm, however their continues to be some swelling, and the wound continues to drain. Needless to say it's been a bad three weeks! He also completed one of two ultra-sounds.... but the results of the carotid didn't look too good, doctor wanted to see him right away....so he's now scheduled for a CT Scan of that area, and then a two day check of the femoral artery!!!

Me? Well in addition to the EKG coming back abnormal, so did my Eco-Cardiogram, AND the Nuclear Stress Test. So the doctor says there is a possibility of needing a heart catheter, but before we do that I'm scheduled for a CT, Angiogram of the Coronary arteries - to check for blockage! That is scheduled for the end of the month.

Enough of that - my blood pressure is rising!!!!!!!

Since I can't do a whole lot outside....I've spent my time doing some cookin'. We've had Tuna Noodle, Shepherds Pie, Roast Beef, and today we enjoyed Chicken Parmesan......we also made some Tagalong (Chocolate/Peanut Butter) Cookies and some Peanut Butter Cups!

And we had a very pleasant surprise on Wednesday. On our way back home from the cardiologist, we decided to stop for dinner. We had already decided that it would be Denny's or I-HOP..........but we ended up at Hibachi Grill......where we ran into Rick and Judy Haphey! I used to work with Judy at Thousand Trails Peace River. It was nice seeing them both, and we promised to let them know when we made a stop to see friends at the park.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Well, the only thing really exciting about the last two weeks is that a little bit of Fall weather has arrived, the humidity is down, and all of our favorite programs are back on TV!

Unfortunately after Rich's accident with the Oak Tree - the swelling continued in the forearm and the fingers and so we made an appointment with the doctor.
X-ray showed no fracture....and he started antibiotics..... The following, Monday the wound was still draining and swollen, so it was another trip to the doctor, another X-ray, and stronger antibiotics. Doctor also took a culture. When the results came back, X-ray was good, but the results of the culture require him to throw out the 2 antibiotics he was taking, and begin a 10 day supply of 500 milligram antibiotics! He still has a week left.............but finally starting to see an improvement. The swelling is not as bad, it continues to drain.......... The WHIP CREAM CAKE brought on a smile!!

In the meantime we've both had appointments with the Cardiologist! I completed by two day stress test, and Rich had the first of two ultrasounds.

Absolutely nothing else going on......... Neighbors Phil and Doreen are on a 10 day visit to Jerusalem, but we did visit for a little bit with neighbors Jim and Patty who came up to fish for 4 or 5 days! And not even ONE trick or treater on Halloween!

And our new T-Shirts arrived... Fund raiser at the King's Harvest Pet Rescue, where Dennis and Krystal and our grand-daughter volunteer!